# John Patton's Storm Front



## Stonedog (Mar 9, 2011)

Description as found on the 4Noggins site:



> Two cube cut burleys combined with cigar leaf. Meaty,sweet, and smokey. This might be John's favorite blend yet!!


First, I should say that I'm still very new to pipe smoking. I've sampled a small number of "English" blends, a few aromatics, a few Virginia, VaPers and one or two Va/Burley/Perique blends. I've also gone through a few ounces of Prince Albert and like it quite a bit for its simple, nutty flavor and volumes of smoke.

So, when I ordered a few 4oz of bags from 4Noggins this is one of the ones that made it in. It is currently rated 4/4 on tobaccoreviews.com with 8 reviews and 5/5 on the 4Noggins site with 14 reviews. I figured it couldn't be horrible, right?

Well, I was not disappointed. It arrived with a perfect moisture level (fairly dry, just right for this blend). The smell directly from the bag is a bit sweet, perhaps roasted nuts and dried berries.

The cut is just as the description says, fairly large "cubes" that looks more like 3/16"x3/16" flakes and is very uniform. It loads easily with a simple scoop and tamp although I use the "Frank" method if I want a full bowl. It lights easily and usually doesn't need the first charring light. I'm not the most skilled pipe smoker so re-lights are required on occasion. Just like Prince Albert this produces volumes of smoke, although it is more tasty than PA.

To continue my comparison to PA, the flavor is perhaps as nutty but the cigar leaf does make an appearance on occasion, especially in my pipes with wider bowls. To be clear, it does not taste like cigar, but I can tell there is something else in there adding perhaps a savory flavor. This is not a complex blend but rather a mellow and straightforward OTC-ish burley with more body to it than PA and a flavor I find very enjoyable.

I can not seem to get it to bite not matter how I abuse it. In comparison I've been bitten by C&D Burley Flake #1 (which is much stronger), most aros I've tried and even burley/virgina/perique blends like Exhausted Rooster.

The nicotine is there, but not strong. If smoked quickly and maybe on an empty stomach I can definitely feel it (like right now I have a slight buzz) but generally it is very well behaved.

Room note? Not sure, I smoke it in my car during my commute.

This is planted firmly in my top 3 right now next to Squadron Leader and LNF and I'm considering dedicating a pipe to it just so I can enjoy it without any ghosting from latakia, etc.

If you're a fan of PA and similar OTCs but want something a bit more interesting, Storm Front is worth a try.


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## whitebriar (Jul 7, 2010)

have heard good things about this blend--gotta give it a try--


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